Tuesday, March 11, 2014

So ever since I made the black bean dip I kept thinking about the consistency. It was so creamy and the color made it look like chocolate pudding. Could I possibly make chocolate pudding out of black beans? Would I be able to make it taste good? Would everyone think I was crazy?

I have seen recipes using pinto beans to make brownies or fudge, so I knew it was possible to use legumes in desserts. I just had never tried it myself and didn't know what to expect. I love making dried beans in my slow cooker because it's so easy and they turn out great. Plus it's super duper inexpensive. So I decided to give it a shot. The first time I tried the pudding it wasn't quite the consistency that I desired. It needed a little more creaminess and more fat. Let's face it--fat equals flavor so sometimes it's just necessary to add in some fat. I decided to use an AVOCADO to get a creamier and more flavored result.

I love avocados. I seeeriously love them and use them most every day. So when I tried to think of a creamy texture that is natural I thought first of these creamy veggies (or is it a fruit?). Next I thought that the pudding needed some delicious creamy topping so I made whipped cream out of coconut milk! Oh yeah, baby! There's a first time for everything and that's a first for me.

Finally, I knew that the type of person that would make this recipe wouldn't be down with a ton of white sugar in it. So I decided to sweeten the pudding with agave nectar. I had never used this product in cooking/baking before but I have to say that I was really pleased with it. Honey, molasses and maple syrup seem to really have distinct flavors and I didn't want to sweeten with something that would overpower the flavor. The light agave nectar worked perfectly and didn't have a distinguishable taste/flavor...just sweetened it perfectly.

Anyhow, I hope you like this recipe...it seems weird but I promise that you won't even be able to taste the black beans. I tried it out on a neighbor and my kids and they said they didn't know that it was black beans. And for those of you who don't need or want all the adaptations for specific dietary needs I included a simplified black bean chocolate pudding recipe at the very bottom.

1. Rinse off the black beans and place them in the slow cooker. Fill the slow cooker with water to cover the beans by about 2 inches. Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for about 8 hours or HIGH for about 4 hours. Beans are done when they are super soft. Drain the beans of liquid. Measure out 2 cups of the cooked beans.

2. Add your choice of milk to the bottom of a high powered blender (I use my Blendtec). Top with the 2 cups of black beans. Blend until totally creamy (it might take a couple of minutes). Chill the bean mixture in an airtight container in the fridge until totally cool. The same time you put the beans in the fridge shake up the can of coconut milk for 30 seconds and place in the fridge unopened. (This step will take several hours. You may want to refrigerate overnight).

3. When beans are totally cooled add them back into the blender. In a small glass bowl, melt the coconut oil (it's solid at room temperature) for about 30 seconds in the microwave. Stir in the cocoa powder and Agave nectar in with the oil. Scrape the mixture into the blender.

4. Add in the half avocado.

5. Blend until creamy--about 15-30 seconds (keep in mind the higher and longer you blend with increase the temperature of the pudding).

6. Open the can of coconut milk. It should be the consistency of whipped cream. Fold in half the can of coconut milk/cream into the pudding. Retain the other half of milk/cream for topping the pudding. Stir in 1 tsp of Agave into the other half of coconut milk/cream and top the pudding with it. Scoop into serving bowls and enjoy or store in fridge in airtight container until ready to eat (up to 24 hours).

(Second) Recipe for Slow Cooker Black Bean Chocolate Pudding

{This recipe asks for more common ingredients and is not dairy free. It is gluten free though!}

Makes 6 servings

Ideal slow cooker size: 3 quart

Cooking time: 4-8 hours

3/4 cup dried black beans*

6 oz milk

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp cocoa powder

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

Peanut butter, optional

Chocolate chips, optional

Banana, optional

1. Rinse off the black beans and place them in the slow cooker. Fill the slow cooker with water to cover the beans by about 2 inches. Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for about 8 hours or HIGH for about 4 hours. Beans are done when they are super soft. Drain the beans of liquid. Measure out 2 cups of the cooked beans.

2. Add your choice of milk to the bottom of a high powered blender (I use my Blendtec). Top with the 2 cups of black beans. Blend until totally creamy (it might take a couple of minutes). Chill the bean mixture in an airtight container in the fridge until totally cool.

3. When beans are totally cooled add them back into the blender. In a small glass bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and add in the butter. Microwave for another 20-30 seconds until totally creamy and melted. Scrape the mixture into the blender. Add in the cocoa powder and sugar into the blender.

4. Blend until creamy--about 15-30 seconds (keep in mind the higher and longer you blend with increase the temperature of the pudding).

5. Scoop into serving bowls and top with a dollop of peanut butter, sprinkle with a few chocolate chips and top with sliced bananas. YUM!

*Although most recipes that call for dried beans can be swapped out for canned beans I wouldn't do that in this recipe. Most of the time the canned beans are cooked with salt (even the low sodium kind) and it would just be a little weird to have salty beans in this recipe. Dried beans can be found for very cheap at your local grocer.

P.S. Lately my favorite social network is INSTAGRAM. It's so fun! Are you following me yet?

Like This Post? Follow 365 Days of Slow Cooking by e-mail

3 comments:

Wow, very creative and interesting! One thing I want to point out -- if made with almond milk or coconut milk, it's not nut free. Anyone who has nut allergies of course would know this, but someone who is making it for someone with nut allergies might not realize it, so best to be accurate as possible.